President Barack Obama is urging congressional Republicans to accept more tax revenue in order to avert the sequester -- an $85 billion, across-the-board budget cut due to take effect March 1 that could derail America's still stuttering economic recovery.

The House overwhelmingly passed a bill Wednesday to permit the government to borrow enough money to avoid a first-time default for at least four months, defusing a looming crisis setting up a springtime debate over taxes, spending and the deficit.

We've heard from poll after poll in recent months predicting who would win the presidential race: Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But poll respondents don't have anything to lose when they give their opinions. Gamblers betting on the outcome do, and they give overwhelming odds to one candidate.

Tonight, America will witness quite a show because the stakes, frankly speaking, couldn't be higher for both campaigns. So where does the race stand after last week's biblical disaster of a debate for President Obama? It's just about a true toss-up.

President Barack Obama made a cross-country swing for cash and Hispanic support Monday amid signs that Republican rival Mitt Romney is cutting into his lead in some key swing states as the campaign enters its final four weeks.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stayed within striking distance of President Barack Obama in a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Sunday, two-points behind the Democrat for the third straight day after winning last week's debate in Denver.

While the presidential candidates are the main event, they are often not as interesting as their running mates. With less of a need to cater to the center, vice presidential candidates can have more fun, be a bit more outrageous, occasionally make some waves financially.

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney await tonight's debate, we examine one more key topic they'll go toe-to-toe over: budget cuts. Will they cut Medicare, defense, or the many smaller programs that effect us every day? And how will they spin those budgetary choices? Here's what we may hear.

This fall, as Americans prepare to mark their ballots, Republicans are hoping that voters' minds will be focused on one (and only one) simple question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Unfortunately for the GOP, the answer isn't quite as clear as they'd like.

Twice as many business executives around the world say the global economy will prosper better if incumbent President Barack Obama wins the next election than if his Republican challenger Mitt Romney does, a poll showed on Friday.

Republicans in Congress already love Paul Ryan's budget proposals, and now that he's on the presidential ticket, we can expect his fiscal ideas to hold even more sway in a Romney administration. So how would his proposals affect the average U.S. family? Would you be better off in a Romney-Ryan America?

Even before Mitt Romney picked him as his running mate, Paul Ryan was a Tea Party star, a fiscal-policy super-wonk and author of the GOP House's budget proposal. Here's a look at some of the ways Ryan's fiscal ideas contrast with President Obama's:

Republican Paul Ryan's blueprint for Medicare could prove one of the most polarizing policies of the election. While it's short on details, one thing is clear: It would shift thousands of dollars a year in health are costs back to individual retirees.

Earlier this week, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) complained that he only netted $600,000 in 2010, and thus couldn't afford to pay higher taxes: "Class warfare never created a job," said Fleming. Former Obama administration official Elizabeth Warren, now running for the Senate, is ready with the counter-argument.